September 21 – Marcos Alonso is no longer taking the knee because he believes the gesture is “losing a bit of strength”. Instead, the Chelsea player has opted to point at the anti-racism message on the sleeve of his shirt.
September 20 – Europe’s umbrella coaches association AEFCA (Alliance of European Football Coaches’ Associations) has become the latest football stakeholder to condemn FIFA’s proposal to move the men’s World Cup to a biennial cycle.
September 20 – Despite FIFA insisting it has majority support for its controversial idea of a World Cup every two years, the German and Portuguese federations are the latest bodies to condemn the concept.
September 20 – Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain will play a friendly against a Saudi select in the Saudi capital as part of the Riyadh Season Cup.
September 20 – One of Britain’s leading football agents allegedly broke the rules by signing underage players, according to a BBC television programme.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 20 – The football world is paying tribute to former England striker Jimmy Greaves, one of the game’s greatest goal scorers and personalities who has died aged 81.
September 17 – Barcelona’s president has painted a grim picture of the full extent of the club’s financial crisis, saying its debt had risen to an eye-watering €1.35 billion.
September 17 – The festering dispute between the US women’s football team (USWNT) and their national federation over equal pay has escalated further with the players union deriding the latest offer as a publicity stunt.
September 17 – Concacaf has redrawn the route to the 2024 men’s Olympic football tournament with the U-20 teams deciding the region’s representatives in Paris.
By Samindra Kunti
September 16 – Controversial Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis tends to dream big. His latest big idea a shake-up of the European game via an alternative ‘Super League’ with entry based on merit and which he believes could generate a €10 billion investment.
September 16 – One of African football’s biggest problems across the continent is the condition and safety of stadiums. The African confederation highlighted the issues this year, even banning some from use. A UN-certified Sport Safety and Security Training and Advanced Education Programme for professionals in Africa football has been launched as a step towards finding solutions.
September 16 – Socios.com are continuing their rapid expansion in football’s major national markets. Having announced a hook-up with Spain’s LaLiga already this week and launched their sell-out Fan Token issue with Premier League Everton, the blockchain-based crypto business has unveiled Brazil’s Flamengo as their latest partner.
By Samindra Kunti
September 14 – Chelsea open their defence of the Champions League tonight at home to Zenit St Petersburg, kicking off the European club season in earnest. The question in Europe is whether Chelsea and their English counterparts will also be kickstarting an age of Premier League dominance in the European Cup?
September 24 – Concacaf has said that it “recognises the merits” of FIFA’s plan to create a new international match calendar – which would include a biennial World Cup – and that it will look at the proposals with an “open mind” and “positive engagement”.
September 14 – Caribbean Football Union (CFU) President Randy Harris has backed FIFA’s plans for a biennial World Cup, arguing that it would offer more “high-quality playing opportunities” for his member associations.